employment

Article from the Newark Evening News on July 20, 1963 covering demonstrations at the White Castle on Elizabeth Avenue led by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). CORE picketed at the diner to protest discrimination in hiring practices, as nearly all of the diner’s staff was white in a predominantly Black neighborhood. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Article from the New Jersey Afro-American covering demonstrations at the construction site of the Rutgers University Law Building in 1964. Various civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, CORE, Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), and Puerto Rican populations protested the $2.5 million project that employed no Black or Puerto Rican workers. — Credit: New Jersey Afro-American

Article from the Advance newspaper in 1966 covering a recommendation from the Business and Industrial Coordinating Council (BICC) and Essex County Grand Jurors Association to expand the Essex County Vocational School system to meet the demands for education and job training in skilled employment. The BICC was established in the wake of the contentious protests at the Barringer High School construction sites in July 1963. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Letter to the Editor of the New Jersey Afro-American newspaper commemorating the first anniversary of the Business and Industrial Coordinating Council’s founding. The letter, from the BICC, highlights some of the accomplishments of the organization during its first year. — Credit: New Jersey Afro-American, Newark Public Library

Business card of William Mercer, BICC Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Skill Escalation and Employment Development (SEED) program. The BICC was established in the wake of the contentious protests at the Barringer High School construction sites in July 1963. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Note from the pamphlet: “This series of articles on the efforts of the Newark Business and Industrial Coordinating Committee to assist Negroes and Puerto Ricans in gaining employment was published by The Newark News in its issues of March 22-26, 1964. These pamphlets have been prepared by The News for distribution by the committee.” The BICC was established in the wake of the contentious protests at the Barringer High School construction sites in July 1963. — Credit: Doug Eldridge, The Newark News

Police report submitted on July 29, 1963 regarding demonstrations at the Barringer High School construction site to protest hiring discrimination in the building and construction trades in Newark against Blacks and Puerto Ricans. — Credit: NJ State Archives

Flyer distributed by the Newark Coordinating Council (NCC) to encourage community support of protests at the Barringer High School construction site. The NCC, which was comprised of various civil rights organizations in the city, organized demonstrations at the site to protest hiring discrimination in the building and construction trades in Newark against Blacks and Puerto Ricans. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Press release from Newark Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Executive Director, Dan Anthony, announcing that after a six-hour hearing the Commission had “found discrimination in the employment patterns of the workforce at Barringer High School.” Mayor Addonizio had tasked the Commission with conducting an investigation to determine if hiring discrimination existed within the building and construction industries in the city. — Credit: Newark Public Library

Telegram sent by Rev. John Collier to President John Kennedy, Attoenry General Robert Kennedy, Governor Richard Hughes, and NJ Attorney General Arthur Sills regarding the beatings of peaceful demonstrators at the Barringer High School construction site in July 1963. Members of the Newark Coordinating Council and their supporters were attacked by construction workers and police officers as they demonstrated against hiring discrimination in the building and construction industries at the construction site. — Credit: Newark Public Library